Drowning
by calleighstorres
Summary: He won't let her drown, even if it means facing some consequences. CaRWash. Set in Season 6/7.
1. Holding on

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI Miami, this is just a fanfic**

**Authors Notes - Heavily inspired by 5x02 ("Going Under") because it's a superior episode. Also the CaRWash in that episode, MY HEART! I felt inspired by the heavy rain to write a tragedy fanfiction. Also "All In" is another episode that inspired this.**

**I apologise for how badly written this is. Better stories will come soon. **

**Summary: **He wants to save her more than anyone could ever know.

Her location had been released at the expense of losing an officer. Their assisting patrol officer was shot dead by the same person who had kidnapped Calleigh. But they had finally told them what he did with her. None of the CSIs had rested since Calleigh was kidnapped. Especially Ryan. He hadn't even slept once. The worst thing that could've happened kept him awake with nightmares that prevented him from even wanting to close his eyes. Only he refused to admit it to anyone. Calleigh's disappearance had the biggest impact on him.

The young CSI hadn't rested. He wouldn't. Not until they found Calleigh. Ryan needed to know she wasn't dead. That she was as alive as they come. That's why driving down this back road to the location given, Officer Wolfe had led the search party with the sirens of his Hummer going and the lights flashing. There wasn't one thing he'd rather be doing than looking fot her. Even when it was hopeless, he wouldn't give up. Ryan couldn't go up. He cared about the blonde in a way nobody else would understand.

It was no secret Calleigh drew a lot of attention. With her long, flowing hair and swaying hips along with her mesmerizing green eyes. Every guy wanted her. But they would never stick around for times when she wasn't flirting or playing along with their advances. As soon as she was no longer emotionally built up - the guy fled like he never knew her. Ryan saw this pattern. First with Hagen, then Berkeley, then Elliott - none of them had ever really done it for her in the first place. When he sent Peter to the wrong place.. it wasn't just because he messing around. It was because Peter wad playing some kind of sick game. He had a fiancée, Monica West, and still led Calleigh to believe they had something. Up until she found out about his engagement. That ruined it.

"Anything?" Horatio asked from the radio.

"Nothing yet." Ryan replied with his radio.

They needed a sign. Anything. Just a simple piece of evidence that would show where Calleigh was. Before all hope was lost.

When Ryan found the car that her kidnapper had been talking about, he called it in and immediately parked up his Hummer. If there was anywhere she was, it was here. And he didn't have much time. Before she could 100% be presumed dead. All he needed was a little bit more time. Ryan wanted this nightmare to be over already. The pressure was already slowly beginning to crack down his walls. The emotional barriers he'd put up so high that he didn't even cry at all. It would all come crumbling if he truly lost her.

_'-ever pushed the side of a dinner plate to get some?' _

_'..can we focus on the task at hand.. please?' _

_The _more he began to convince himself it was over, the more flashbacks he had. Even the smallest smile would set his heart alight. He didn't want to say they were right. That she was gone. Because he would never ever believe it. Ryan wanted nothing more than to see her beautiful face again. As he used his flashlight, searching along the shore, they found a woman sat at the edge.

Patrol units took her to the fire and rescue truck with a detective to question her, while he continued his search. That woman would surely give them enough information to find their missing colleague. Most definitely. It was until he was called over, he'd thought so. "What?"

"She doesn't speak much English. What languages do you speak?"

"Ummm... Spanish, Italian... a bit of Dutch, French, Russian.. "

"She speaks Italian." Another officer interrupted.

Ryan nodded. He started asking the woman questions in Italian. She answered, shivering as the wind began to blow. He'd asked her if she saw another woman that had been pushed into the water. The woman, who he now knew as Rosetta, had told him she was pushed in with a weight tied to her foot via a rope. He began to panic. _Calleigh was out there drowning; in the water. _

He thanked her and immediately ran over to the waterside. Then he noticed her heels in the plants. "Officer, it's most likely she's not there. That woman is traumatized and might just be hallucinating." Wolfe shook his head. "You're not the Italian though. She said it clearly. She remembers. And Calleigh is in there." Ryan didn't have much choice on what to do. He couldn't wait for divers to get there. There wasn't that kind of spare time given.

"I'm going in." He stated, taking off his badge, holster which was then followed by his shoes. The detective wasn't okay with this. "You'll face some serious consequences if you don't listen. This is my scene." "And this is my colleague we're talking about."

Ryan walked towards the edge, where he caught a glimpse off what looked like Calleigh's sweater. Floating on the water. There. "You go in, and you're screwed." "Guess I'm screwed."

He braced himself, then did an award worthy dive into the water. At least he knew how to swim. Ryan took one last breath, before he disappeared beneath the ripples of the water. Below the water he started search, remaining aware of the knife attatched to his belt while swimming. The brown-haired CSI used the sweater as a starting point. He needed to find the weight.

Kicking his legs with paced intensity, Ryan swam through until he was met with the fright of an awfully pale Calleigh Duquesne. She was dressed in only her bra and slacks. That sick man had ridden her of her sweater and shirt. Just the thought of someone forcefully doing that made him sick to the stomach. Calleigh didn't deserve any of what happened to her.

Wolfe hadn't wasted any time cutting off the rope attaching the weight to her legs. Then he wrapped an arm around her waist so that she didn't sink. And he began swimming up to the surface. Otherwise he'd only bring Calleigh back down with him. Ryan couldn't prove the detective right. He had to persevere through it.

On the land, everybody had assumed Ryan had drowned. None were surprised. They were sure he couldn't swim to save his life. Let alone - anyone elses. There was an ambulance on stand by and the divers would be there soon. Nobody had any belief that Ryan had survived. Horatio looked out at the water, waiting for him. The lieutenant knew Ryan only said he couldn't swim as an excuse. It was a lie. As well as being able to speak multiple languages, he could swim. And run. For a nerd in high school, he was quite athletic. His build hadn't defeated the idea either.

So when Ryan emerged from the water with Calleigh, gasps were heard from everyone. He rushed over to the shore and got the older woman out of the water first. He swiftly climbed out of the water and began emergency CPR. The paramedics were still a bit of a trek away. 'Stay alive.' he thought as he conducted the mouth to mouth. People watched as he hopelessly kept trying.

"She's not going to wake up, Wolfe."

"Give up."

"It's over."

Suddenly, Calleigh wheezed and started coughing. He'd done it. "Calleigh! Calleigh, it's me." The blonde weakly reached for his hand, in which he let her hold even though he was also soaked from head to toe. "Ryan.." she croaked. The blonde hadn't been used to the lips that were on hers. The man who attempted to save her life. And did so. "..thank you."

Ryan timidly smiled. "Always." The paramedics came along. Wolfe stepped back, allowing Calleigh to be taken to the ambulance. She needed medical attention and he wasn't going to get in the way when that is what he had wanted to do.

He stared out at the Everglades. Ryan knew it was stupid. Insensitive. Risky. But he still did it anyway. Because he couldn't risk losing her above his job. If he got fired for saving his colleague, so be it. Life came before anything else and that's how he did it. Patrol style.

"Mr Wolfe, I didn't know you could swim."

The young CSI chuckled. "Just thought it made a good excuse not to get in the water." Horatio stood beside his CSI and looked at what he was looking at. "..H, about that.." The lieutenant shook his head. "Ryan, you saved Calleigh's life. There's nothing you should apologize for." "I guess." He sighed.

She'll get through this. He knew that. It was another time he almost lost her. And the more it happened, the more he wanted to come out and tell her what he really felt. Yet at the same time, he remained too scared to. Afraid of getting his heart broken. Loving to lose. He'd been there one time too many.

Calleigh was all he had left in his shattering life. Even though she only saw him as a friend. He couldn't imagine his life without her. Losing his job to save her life was something he'd do in a heartbeat. It made his intentions clear to anybody who noticed. His care for her. The things he would do for her.

All, for Calleigh.

_"This is for you." _


	2. Bonus Chapter

**Authors Notes: This chapter focuses more on Calleigh and her feelings after the incident. CaRWash.**

**Summary - Calleigh comes to terms with her feelings after the incident.**

**/**

She could barely believe it herself. He, a former patrol officer who said he couldn't swim, jumps into the everglades to save her.. and swims? The first thing she had come to terms with was their lips touching. Though it wasn't much of a kiss, as it was CPR, that didn't mean she didn't deflect the whole idea.

The blonde saw the look on his face. It was a look she couldn't get out of her head. As she was sat on her queen sized bed, looking out the window, his eyes wouldn't leave her memory. The once vibrant brown-tinted green then a cold green. He'd been scared. Even his tone of voice had suggested how he felt. Feared. She had sensed it. And yet, his heroic actions were beyond anything she had ever experienced herself. Never had she been saved like that. When she was sure she was a goner. He came and saved her when nobody else had.

While in the water, Calleigh had heard the faintness of voices. One of which she had just identified to be her fellow CSI. It was then the ballistics expert realised she did want to know more. Talk to Ryan about it. Though she was still a little jumpy, she knew Ryan's touch. And he would never hurt her, even if it meant dying instead.

She stared at his hoodie that she'd hung up on the bedroom door a while ago. He'd left it at hers after he'd dropped her off and come in for coffee. Calleigh mainly liked it because it wasn't something with a price tag on it. His scent roamed the air in the doorway and contaminated her thoughts with memories of him. It was almost nostalgic considering the recent circumstances.

Her thoughts were blanked out by a knock at the door. Calleigh got up and made her way through to the front door of her condo.

Outside stood an anxious Ryan Wolfe. He looked tired. The blonde opened the door and came face to face with her colleague. "You okay?" "I think I should be asking you that." He said with a half-hearted laugh. Calleigh giggled. "Come on in then." Ryan took the invite and walked into her place as Duquesne shut the door and followed him to the couch where they both sat down.

Ryan had come over mainly because he couldn't sleep. As like most of his nights before they found Calleigh. Sleepless. "..how were you?.." Ryan took a deep breath. "Do you want the real answer?" "Yes." she answered, standing firmly with her choice. Calleigh needed to know. She had to know.

"I didn't sleep. I worked and I worked, hoping to get something. Anything. During those three days, I couldn't sleep. I kept panicking about what could've happened to you. Even had nightmares about it... so when we were given a location by anonymous tip, I knew this was the only lead we had to go on. I led a search party through the back road we would take to avoid traffic. And we saw the other girl. That gave me some sort of hope.. because in cases, if one is alive - usually more are. As she only spoke Italian, I asked her about you. She said under water. My heart had never stopped quicker. You were drowning. And we were right there physically witnessing it. I was scared. Angry. I wanted to kill the bastard that did that to you. Your sweater floating on the water was a sign of two things. He'd tried to make you do things you didn't want to, and that he was punishing you for no reason. I hated it! I hated it more than I could ever put into words..."

Tears began to form in his eyes. Wolfe wasn't used to crying. It was an irregular feeling. Water falling from his eyes. Calleigh saw his emotion. He'd only ever cried in front of her once. And since then, he hadn't even showed any emotion. Until now. Now he was sitting beside her unable to hold back his tears after he'd admitted how badly he'd been thinking about her. How he had overworked himself looking for her. He didn't even sleep. Once. That explained the faint lines under his eyes.

"You care about me?" She inquired, shifting herself a little closer to him. Ryan was the only person she trusted not to let her go. And he hadn't. He'd held on. "Of course I do.. love does that to you." He mumbled, wiping his eyes. Calleigh placed a hand on his arm and smiled. Through all this there was something she had learnt about herself. Or more so, the people around her.

Ever since she first met the man beside her - there had always been a spark there. They'd always clicked. It was why they made the imperfectly perfect pairing. They argued. Shouted at one another. Hated each other. Loved.

He had always warned her about her type of guys. Most of them had instability and relied on women to make them feel good within themselves. They dated around a lot and could never commit. Which is why she had been cheated on several times by all of them. Lied to. Mistreated. Jake had hit her. Ryan had saw that. And he gave Detective Berkeley knowledge not to do that again. She had never wanted to know what he did to make the semi rogue detective intimidated but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he left her alone. That's what she had really wanted.

One thing that really got her was the fact he checked up on her first before he went after her ex boyfriend. It wasn't the first time and doubted it would be the last. He did a lot to protect her, even when he was mad at her. Or if she had been mad at him. Ryan still cared.

"Love?" She wiped the stream of water running down his cheek. He looked up at her. "I.." He wanted to say it. But he couldn't find a way to. She already knew what he was trying to say. After some serious thought, she could honestly say that she had missed her own feelings. How she felt about him when she didn't push aside her heartfelt feelings. She loved him too.

Calleigh gazed into his eyes. He gazed right back into hers. He'd stopped crying since then. His eyes lost it's cold touch and she could see the warmth reappear as his eyes turned a beautiful hazel color. "I know." she whispered, leaning her head closer so they were just about nose to nose with their foreheads one to one.

Ryan had his chance to confess however he was sure he blew it. Then she says she knows. Which only meant she felt what he was feeling. And that set off fireworks in his heart. Calleigh meant everything to him and he realised how much he needed her when she wasn't there. This moment had been long out of reach. And now he finally had the chance to express. Or else he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

He took one hand into his. "It's always been you."

Calleigh could barely contain the many emotions she was feeling all at once. She pressed her lips on his. The kiss was tender and a sort of tester as to how his lips felt on hers. When he actually meant to kiss her. It felt so right. Like his lips belonged on hers.

When they pulled away, both smiled. "I would never let you die." Ryan muttered, his hand still in hers. "You're amazing, Ryan. And I love you for that."


End file.
